Sensex nosedives 368 pts; realty plunges 8%

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Markets closed weak on Thursday with the BSE benchmark Sensex shedding 368 points or 2.4 per cent to 14,724 levels. In the broader markets, Nifty shed 98 points or 2.2 per cent to reach 4430.

While buying was evident in IT counters, selling was visible in banking, realty, capital goods and oil & gas counters by over 2.3 per cent each.

"I expect markets to be range bound in the medium term. The pullback from 12,500 levels on the Sensex is due to cooling down of oil prices. Even if the oil prices come down further, markets will not rally, as earnings will be affected. Banks will remain sluggish over few months," said Jyotivardhan Jaipuria, Head of Research, DSP Merrill Lynch.

DLF, shedding 8.7 per cent was the biggest loser among the BSE-30 scrips. Other prominent losers in the pack were Reliance Infrastructure, State Bank of India and Jaiprakash Associates.
Other Asian markets closed mixed on Thursday. While South Korea’s Kospi and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng were in green, Japan’s Nikkei was in the red in by 0.5 per cent.

Realty plummets
The BSE realty index, slipped by 447 points or 8 per cent, was the biggest loser among the sectoral indices. DLF, Indiabulls Real Estate and Housing Development & Infra were the major losers in the group.

Banking counters also shed 5.1 per cent on Thursday. Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank and Kotak Mahindra were the prominent losers.